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Saturday 2/23/02   

Marine Land launch  ~7NM

We all managed to get off without any capsizes today and took the NW route to Rest point.

Conditions:

It was a little rougher than last week. Very choppy and agitated everywhere. Only a few of the waves were very big, but many of the usual play spots required some care to get through right side up. A lot of water exploding into rocks made it visually very stimulating. It was pretty stimulating in the boats as well.

In front of the Big Pool:

The Big Pool was inaccessible today because of the low tide. But the shelf guarding the front entrance was quite active. Doug flipped in the hole in front of the shelf. He was a little ahead, so it took a few minutes for us to get there. It was pretty rough were he flipped, so on the way over Jack and I were discussing who would get Doug's boat and who would get Doug. By the time we got there, however, he had swam his boat and his paddle into deeper and calmer water. He looked like he was about to start a solo re-entry when we arrived. Very self sufficient. This may not seem like a big deal, but maintaining control of your boat & paddle in a rock garden recovery situation is far from easy. I think I'm batting about 50%. Doug is relatively new to paddling, but if we would have filmed him, you could have used it as an instructional video. Excellent job Doug.

Washover at rest point:

There is a nice little slot in the reef structure at rest point. Often (like last week), you can ride the washover. Today tide was too low for that, so the fun was lining up behind it and trying to stay in position as waves broke over it. We all tried it and it was hard (but very fun) work. We got some excellent photos of paddlers in there. I'll post them when they come back. We had a few flips in there as well. I think I had two and Doug had one. I'm embarrassed to say how long we played at this one spot. I'd write more about it, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Big pain come from small creatures:

Jack and I slipped behind a  little reef just SE of Point Vicente. It was a fun little spot, fairly well protected from the main break, but very foamy and agitated. Jack transitioned out, but I thought it would be a good place for some rolling practice. I should have checked the depth. Before I could get all the way upside-down further rotation was stopped cold by the rocky bottom. Surprisingly, that didn't hurt at all. I let go of the paddle with one (gloved) hand to push off the bottom. OUCH!!! Those little spinney purple urchins really hurt. None of the quills (?) stayed in, but that didn't reduce the pain any. In fact, it was disconcerting to not have anything to show for the pain.

Does anything eat those little monsters?

Out of boat mayhem:

Whenever I have been injured kayaking (except today), it is always after I have exited the boat. Usually, it involves being pummeled on the rocks, or by my boat, or both. Today Don proved that it is not even necessary to start out in a boat. Don was climbing around on the rocks to take photos of Jack in the washover (above). I didn't see it, but apparently a wave blew him right off the rocks into the water. He didn't get injured, but those who witnessed it seemed to think it was very entertaining.

New toys:

Don's Avocet is in the shop so he brought a scupper classic SOT he paddles every so often. Actually it seemed to work very well. He had no problem keeping up with the other paddlers. He has installed thigh straps on the boat, so he was able to lean and side surf without any difficulty. At one point he got side surfed all the way into some rocks and was able to stay on board. I tried it for a minute to see if I could roll it. I was very successful with the first 180°, but not so successful with the second 180°. I was able to stay in (on?) the boat until I gave up, so I think with some practice it can be rolled. I have no problem doing re-entry and roll in my boat, but I had no strategy for getting back in this crazy SOT. George took pity on my stupidity and gave an assist.

Vickie & I tried out new wetsuits for the first time. They are full body surf wetsuits made by Body Glove. They were on sale at Dive & Surf in Redondo beach so we bought 4. One each 3/2 for Southern California, and one each 4/3 for Central / Northern California. We had relief zippers installed by JMJ Manufacturing (http://www.jmjwetsuits.com). Normally they charge $25 for this, but since we had 4 done, he only charged $20 each. They did an excellent job, and got it done when promised. They also do custom wet suits. Anyway, they were more comfortable than any farmer john we have ever used, and quite warm. The material is very flexible, so there was no binding in the arms. We'll save our farmer johns for summer.

George was paddling his new Necky Looksha Sport. They are excellent boats with lousy thigh braces, so he installed some whitewater braces. I didn't paddle the boat, but sat in it. The fit is very good. He was still getting used to the boat, but it was obvious already that he was able to access many more play spots with this boat than his Eclipse. He seemed to be enjoying not having to worry about hitting the rocks, but after we landed he picked it up to carry it up the hill, whereas most of us dragged ours over the smooth rocks. I guess when the new wears off, he'll start abusing it more.

Landing:

Landings went as well as launching. Doug was first to land in the rocks, and he did it like it was an old habit. George, feeling the freedom of a plastic boat, did a very nice seal landing. There is something nice about not hearing the sound of gel coat being ground off your Kevlar hull.